


Thunderstruck

by Starryar (Breadmione)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AC/DC References, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drinking, Drinking Games, Drinking Songs, Drinking to Cope, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Excessive Drinking, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Just not as obvious, POV Draco Malfoy, Pining Draco Malfoy, Post-War, She likes him too, The Lord of the Rings References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28183911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breadmione/pseuds/Starryar
Summary: It's eighth year, post-war and Head Girl Hermione Granger only has one way to deal with her trauma.Slytherin Prefect Draco Malfoy had experienced the meaning of tables turning when Voldemort had lost, but returning to Hogwarts has been the true humbling experience.What is going to happen when Hermione's drunken haze meets a very reflective and attentive Draco?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 18
Kudos: 106





	Thunderstruck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DrunkenWinky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrunkenWinky/gifts).



> I am gifting this fic to DrunkenWinky as a welcome gift to the writing side of the fandom.  
> When this fic idea was birthed, we had ended up meeting that same day in a Discord Server and now I think of our conversation every time I hear the song, so it's only right.
> 
> The song this fic is based off of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

**September 1st, 1998 - Monday**

Draco was starting to panic.

He was searching the only passenger car in the Hogwarts Express he had not looked in before, which means he was in the very _first_ passenger car, as students tended to want to stay from the authorities to get in the first few pranks of the year without having points deducted. Not a single compartment had been free thus far and the train was already moving again. He cursed that he indulged himself in the extra minutes he stayed on the platform with his mother, sacrificing the opportunity to secure a solitary trip.

 _Bloody hell,_ please _be free_. Draco opened the third to last compartment to find it _almost_ free. Granger's body stiffened before she turned around to face him. "I said, get - Oh!" She blinked seeing him standing there. "It's you."

The two words were said almost matter-of-factly, no trace of the anger she initially had in her tone, but he still felt like cold water was splashed over him as his fingers scraped at the shallow metal indent on the sliding door that acted as a handle. "I didn't know this was taken -"

" _You_ can come in." Her familiar haughty tone was back and it caught him off guard. Before it occurred to him to keep his eyes on the floor, he looked up at her, unsure of what the best course of action would be. _Should I leave? Of course I should leave, she doesn't want to see me – if anything her invitation is just a trap._ "Seriously, sit. I promise I won't ask any of the questions that the others will." That was exactly why he wanted a compartment by himself. He wasn't the only would-be-Hogwarts-Slytherin-alumni-of-'98' who had returned back to Hogwarts, but he was the only one who had been in the thick of the war. Draco was afraid that being with his house would no longer be the comfort it once was. Even society went out of its way to make him feel like an outcast when he had once been at the top.

He found himself taking a cautious step forward before he carefully closed the door behind him, scared that the loud noise might flip a switch in Granger and she would kick him out. Deep down, he knew that was just the trauma of living with over thirty Death Eaters had left him with, but habits forged in times of strife were hard to undo.

Being one of the first compartments on the Express, it was a few feet smaller than the rest, but he didn't mind as it was obviously just going to be just him and her for the rest of the trip.

Hermione didn't look at him as she flicked her Gryffindor outer robes out over her, wandlessly transfiguring it into a blanket that completely covered her. He was amazed that she mastered at least the simplest of spells despite her education being interrupted. He was jealous of her, as he often was, especially since he was returning back to Hogwarts with limited use of his wand. _I had no bloody excuse, and yet -_

"Malfoy?" Like him, she was already dressed in her uniform, figuring there was no point in waiting to change on the train.

He made sure his face was blank as he silently panicked. _I should have left, I bet this is where she tells me where I can stick my wand._ "Yes, Granger?" His voice was tight, despite him wanting to come off as polite.

"Wake me up when you get there, will you?" She yawned before she opened her eyes and looked at him. He expected her gaze to be piercing – sharp – but instead it was tired. More tired than any nineteen, or in his case, eighteen, year old should look. He understood it.

"Of course." He gave a swift nod that was quickly replaced with an open gape when he saw Hermione remove a flask from a pocket and take a sip from it. She winced, not completely used to the burn of whatever she was drinking, but took another nip before slipping the metal container back from whence it had came.

Suddenly, he felt an inkling of concern start to trickle in. He watched his father use the finest firewhisky ruin him over stress of the Dark Lord. Surely, Hermione wasn't going to do the same? Instead of saying something, Draco's mouth audibly snapped shut when she met his gaze.

"Shh." It was her only response to him as she let the warmth of the liquor help lull her into a deep sleep that nearly lasted the entire eight hours to Hogwarts.

* * *

**December 20th, 1998 - Sunday**

Eleven students came back to Hogwarts to complete what had been dubbed their "eighth year." Draco was _pleasantly_ surprised that only two actively wanted his head on a platter.

"Oh, look, it's Malfoy."

 _Shit._ Draco tried not to let any of his anxiety show as he hastened his stride, but he knew what was coming next was inevitable. He was without a wand, after all.

 _"_ _Colloshoo."_ The books Draco was holding flew out of his hands as he came to an abrupt stop do to the stickfast hex being cast on his shoes. _Shit, shit, shit,_ shite _._

"So you thought you could run from us?" Terry Boot stepped into his line of vision along with Cormac McLaggen. Both men had decided their contribution to society would be making Draco's life hell.

Draco thought karma was a bitch.

"Have nothing to say, Malfoy?" This time it was McLaggen who spoke. He crossed his arms before he glanced at Boot. "You used to have some good come backs, I'm not going to lie, but you're not so quick-witted now that your precious _Dark Lord_ is dead?"

Draco's grimace became even more twisted, but it was with rage. "He wasn't _my_ anything. If you two oafs had paid attention to the trials - _Oof_!" He knew it was only a matter of time before he was hit with _something_ , but it was the first time either McLaggen or Boot used their fists instead of their wands. Draco had doubled over from the punch to the stomach that was received from Mclaggen, when Boot hit him with a stinging hex to the thigh, causing him to slip out of his stuck shoes and collapse on to the floor.

"We know where your loyalties really lie!" When McLaggen kicked Draco while he was still on the floor, Draco cursed himself for not realizing sooner that McLaggen was in a mood today before opening his mouth. "You Slytherins are all -"

"Mclaggen! Boot!" A third set of foot steps were fast approaching and Draco was silently thanking any deity that put an end to him being put into the hospital wing for the day. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Draco didn't miss how McLaggen's tone changed and he watched how the Gryffindor's sneer being replaced with a leer. "Hermione -"

 _Granger?_ He thought he had recognized the swotty tone, but they hardly exchanged more than pleasantries after they arrived to Hogwarts, and had been unsure. _Coming to the rescue again? Was there anything she couldn't do?_

"Don't bloody ' _Hermione'_ me. You're lucky I didn't hex you two on sight considering what you're doing." Draco flinched when he felt a hand land softly on his arm. His brain was a second too late in realizing that he was not being attacked again. "Are you alright?" She whispered, her breath tickling the downy hair on the back of his neck.

"Yes." Draco pushed himself up from the floor and dusted off his robes, ignoring how his stomach was cramping from the blow McLaggen delivered. He wiped off the pebbles and dirt from his forehead that had been tracked into the castle by the snow the grounds were cloaked in.

"What happened?" Her voice was back to the steel she greeted the two other men with.

"Honestly, Granger -" Boot tried, but even Draco didn't see how the Ravenclaw could get out of this one. It wasn't the first time they were caught standing over a wandless Draco, a clause in his probation instructions required that he live without a wand outside of classes, but it was the first time they were caught by _Hermione_.

"Fifty points from Ravenclaw and fifty points from Gryffindor," McLaggen made a sound like he might have objected, but Granger was not going to take it. "YES, McLaggen, from my own house! And that's just to start. Now, go!"

" _Tch_." Hermione had turned back to Draco, but her head whipped around at break neck speed to stare down a pissed off McLaggen. Either McLaggen didn't like what he saw in her eyes, or he realized Granger was not the one to mess with as he immediately backed off. "Come on, Terry." Soon, the sound of retreating footfalls were filling the silence neither Hermione nor Draco chose to break.

"What did they hit you with?" Her voice was soft and kind and it reminded him of the days where she had to direct Longbottom into fixing whatever potion Snape had frightened him into screwing up. Draco knew she saved this particular tone for those she saw in positive light and could not determine why she was using it on _him._

"Their fists mostly." He made an effort to take a step without putting pressure on the swollen thigh that Boot's stinging hex landed on, but it proved difficult under how tight the trouser leg had become " _Ah_." His hand went to his thigh immediately after he triggered the pain to flash through it.

"Mostly? What else did they hit you with then?" Draco was hesitant to say, and she huffed. "I can't heal you if I don't know what's wrong, you know."

"It was just a stinging hex, Granger." Draco couldn't help the annoyance that leaked into his reply and he didn't miss the irony on how he was taken down by a _stinging hex,_ when that was the one thing he was able to use in his favor at Malfoy Manor to save the Golden Trio over Easter break.

 _This_ year's Easter break that was only eight months ago. It was odd how much had changed in less than a year.

He hated watching the realization dawn on Hermione's freckled face on why he didn't want to say anything. "Oh," was her only reply.

"It'll go away on its own." Again, he attempted to move. This time, he used the wall as his aide, but before he was able to make much progress, Hermione muttered the counter-curse to get rid of the effects of the hex. Draco let out a sigh of relief, one he had not been aware he had been holding. She waved her wand once more and the books he had been carrying landed in her hands. His cheeks burned with jealousy-fueled anger before he mentally chided himself that _she_ had just come to his rescue. She wasn't showing off to make fun of him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome - Oh! You're reading _The Lord of the Rings_?" Hermione glanced between Draco and the book that had landed at the top, with a look of excitement.

"There's a Muggle studies essay due. It sounded the least horrid on the list." Draco defended himself, but then sighed, realizing who he was talking to and that he probably sounded like an arse for defending the reason on why he had checked the book out of the library. There was no Muggle essay due, he simply wanted to expand his horizons.

Hermione grinned as she handed the small stack of books back to him. Once her hands were free, she opened the cover to reveal that another student had written in it. "Interesting." Before he could read what the offending student had graffitied, she closed it and looked up at him, hands behind her back. "Are you coming to the Christmas party, then?"

Draco frowned. The only Christmas party he had heard of was the one the Hufflepuffs were throwing on Christmas Eve and he _knew_ that Hermione Jean Granger, Golden Girl, Muggle-born extraordinaire, and recipient of the Order of Merlin, _First_ class, was not talking about _that_ party. "No." Hufflepuffs were vicious when they felt threatened, but decided to extend an olive branch to the returning Slytherins who didn't take Voldemort's side, especially since they had gotten along best with the house in the past. They had invited the seventh and eighth year Slytherins to the party in their common room on Christmas Eve, but he didn't fancy the idea of being surrounded by people who hated him, even if it was on neutral territory. There was enough of that in the classroom.

 _But then again,_ he thought, _I did see her with a flask on the Hogwarts Express._ Perhaps too much had changed for Hermione to be stuck up about the prospect of going to a party.

"You're going back to – home then?" They were walking in the direction to the dungeons now, her hands still clasped behind her back. Ignoring how she nearly named the place she had been tortured at, she continued. "I've heard the Hufflepuffs are notorious in their parties and this will be the first time they're allowing students from other houses into their common room."

 _So, we are talking about the same party._ Draco let out a small laugh and she looked over at him to see him smirking – but it held little venom, if any at all. "They're bloody wicked and I can vouch that they live up to their reputation." He made a show of sizing her up. "Do _you_ think you can handle it?"

Hermione laughed at the tease. "I hope so, I'll be attending to promote Inter-house unity, you know. I even offered to help with 'party-favors.'" Hermione made quotation marks in the air with the last word.

Draco couldn't help, the astonished look on his face. "You did what?" _Where was she getting her supply of alcohol from, that she had enough to bring to a_ multi-house _party?_

Hermione waved one hand in a dismissive manner while she ducked her shaking head. "It doesn't matter, really. They told me they had everything handled."

"I have to admit, Granger, I never thought you would tolerate a Hufflepuff party, let alone offer to help arrange one." If this was another time and the memories of war weren't too raw, he would joke about her possibly being imperioused.

"They get _one_ party this year." _Ah_ , the swot had rejoined them with her tone of warning. She event went as far as to hold a single index-finger in the air.

"I'd expect nothing less from our Head Girl."

Hermione glanced back at him to see if he was mocking her, but she only found his usual polite mask. Draco had been an enigma disguised as a wall flower this year – only speaking when spoken to and never wanting to be in anyone else's way. He still walked tall like the aristocrat he was raised to be, but no longer was he begging to be in the spot light like he had in their youth. It was evident that he wanted the year over and done with. "Right." She clicked her heels together once she stopped at the entrance to the dungeons. He forgot she had the annoying habit of doing that, but he found it to be so minuscule now that he found it didn't bother him anymore. "Do you think you'll run into trouble past this point? I 'ought to be heading back to finish my rounds."

Draco stopped himself from letting the surprise show on his face. "You paused your rounds for the night so you could walk me back to the dungeons?"

Hermione blinked twice, her poker face betrayed nothing. "I'd do it for any student I just witnessed being bullied." Her eyes narrowed. "Which reminds me, I need to track Professor Flitwick to speak about Boots' behavior. He's a prefect for goodness-sake!"

 _Oh thank Merlin, she's still there._ It was then Draco realized that he was keeping count of how many times he saw a glimmer of the pre-war Hermione. He wanted her to walk her the rest of the way, but he was a prefect in his own territory now. There would have been no reason to allow her to walk him to the common room. "I think I'll be fine. I'd hate to keep you from being the example Hogwarts is needing." He started to walk down the stairs, but turned around as he summoned the last bits of bravery Voldemort hadn't torn out of his grasp. Hermione was still standing there, but had quickly shoved something back into her pocket, not expecting him to turn around. He pretended not to catch the glint of metal off the tip of her flask. "I'm not going back for the holiday, so I _might_ see you in the Hufflepuff common room – but only to spread Inter-house Unity like you suggested. Not to discuss _The Lord of the Rings_."

One corner of Hermione's lips pulled up in a half smile. "What an upstanding prefect. Ten points to Slytherin."

"Did you just pad my house points?" The question fell from his lips from the utter shock and disbelief he felt. It was only ten points,

Hermione put both hands in the air, as if to question what he meant. "I'm not one to debate over semantics, Malfoy, call it what you will."

Without leaving him a chance to reply, she turned on her heel and left.

* * *

**December 24th, 1998 – Thursday**

While Draco was already aware of where the Hufflepuff common room was located, that didn't mean he knew how to get in.

When he approached the barrels, It only slightly annoyed him that he _still_ wouldn't know how to get in since the Hufflepuffs had somehow charmed the entrance barrel to stay open so students were able to come and go at any time. It was smart to not give the entire seventh and eighth year class the password, but Draco had always been a curious character, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Draco had to crouch to enter the sloping, earthy passageway, but he could easily see that at the end of the small tunnel, there was the flickering light of a fire and several bodies moving across his line of vision. When he heard someone entering behind him, he walked a bit faster and stepped out to the cozy atmosphere that was reminiscent of a badger's sett.

Draco looked around, trying to imagine what the common room looked like in its usual black and gold decorations instead of the red and green ones. Draco had heard that the common room was decorated with plants year round as Hufflepuffs were affiliated with the subject of herbology, so he found it safe to assume they had switched out sunflowers and witch hazel for holly and poinsettias.

"Oi, Draco, you made it!" Draco turned to see Hannah Abbot making her way towards him. She was the Hufflepuff that had invited him to the party and one of the first students who made him feel as if he was still a student at Hogwarts this year. "Just in time too, us eighth years were just about to head out." Abbot was sporting a pixie cut this year, something he found to be fitting as he remembered her moves on the courtyard grounds at the Battle of Hogwarts. While Hufflepuff was known to take in students who didn't fit into the other houses, there was no doubt in Draco's mind that Abbot was a Hufflepuff to the core; she stood up for what she considered to be her territory and was ruthless once provoked. "If you want to grab something before we leave, o'er in that corner we have the bevvys, but on that end there, we have the food." She leaned in close to him and he automatically ducked his head to hear her better. "I'd be careful of the pastries, I think a couple Gryffindors snuck in the Weasley Canary Creams, won't want a repeat of fourth year, right?" Abbot winked at him and the smile that appeared on his face at the reference of the ferret debacle was genuine. There were bigger things he took offense to now-a-days.

He was about to ask why and where the eighth years were leaving the common room when there was a crash and the music temporarily stopped. Abbot straightened up as she looked in the direction of where the music had once been playing. "Oi! Ossett, I told you no -" Abbot rushed off to whatever mess Ossett had made, and the music started up again. It wasn't until then that he realized that the music playing was overbearingly muggle. The melody of the music was very upbeat and the woman singing was going too fast for him to catch more than 'Betty Boo' or 'Doin' The Do' being repeated several times.

He opted to stay standing against the wall for Abbot's return, which was only moments later. She quickly hustled him to the entrance that he had come through only moments before, and when he exited the tunnel, he was met with everyone in the entire eighth year class: Neville Longbottom, Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis, Ernie MacMillan, Justin Finch-Fletchy, Cormac McLaggen, Terry Boot, and Anthony Goldstein.

Or almost everyone. Hermione was no where to be seen.

"About time." Pansy Parkinson said, her arms crossed over her chest. "We were about to head to our party without you."

Abbot only shrugged. "But you didn't and we're here now."

Pansy rolled her eyes and twirled around, leading the group out of the hallway and into the main corridor that held the entrance to the Great Hall. Draco and Abbot trailed not too far behind.

"I wasn't sure you were coming." Abbot said, giving him a skeptical, but playful look.

"I wasn't sure what I should wear. I was told not to wear anything relating to our house, and I don't have a lot of casual clothes with me."

"A move Hermione supported Ernie and I on." Abbot shook her head as she smiled. "A piece of work, that one is, but I can't say her requests weren't good ones. I think the lack of house colors helped ease everyone in the common room."

 _Always fighting for the greater good, no matter how small the fight._ Draco nodded as he continued. "I had to get someone to help me. I remember the '94 World cup and some of the outfits the wizards were wearing –" Draco shook his head, "You didn't need to be Muggle-born to know that some wizards were not blending in well."

"Ha, I bet!"

Draco was tempted to leave the group of eighth years to their partying and scurry back to the Slytherin dungeons, but that was _exactly_ the direction they were headed in. Perhaps in the past, he would have complained that he spent more energy than he would have cared to by walking halfway across the castle for nothing, but now he was only agitated that Hermione nowhere to be seen, and Abbot was sticking close to him. He had the sneaking suspicion it was so he couldn't run.

Passing Slughorn's classroom, Pansy turned down a dead-end corridor that had a single wooden door. When she reached it, she knocked in a pattern and Draco was surprised to see Hermione standing in the doorway. "I just finished cleaning everything up." She opened the door wide before heading back to the front of the classroom where she was waving her wand over a gramophone. He took a moment to look around and saw that the decorations were minimal – a stark contrast to the Hufflepuff common room – as there were mostly candles for light, and a few glittering fairies flitting around, providing just the right amount of festive in the air.

Abbot shut the door behind them before making her way past everyone to stand at the forefront of the classroom. "Alright, now that the big kids have snuck off," Abbot put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one side when she got to the middle of the room. "It's time to play." There was a low chuckle that ran through the group at Abbot's lame joke, and Hermione paused her charm work to stand by her. "But first," Abbot cocked an eyebrow as she looked over to where McLaggen and Boot stood. "I want to make sure that everyone understands we're are _all_ mates here. I don't want any infighting, whatsoever." Her expression softened and for the first time since the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco thought she looked her age again. "We made it to the other side of the war. It would be best we acted like it."

It felt like the fun air that the eighth years had been clinging on to was sucked out with an invisible vacuum. Everyone shuffled were they stood, wrung their hands or became suddenly intrigued with a piece of thread on their clothing.

No one made eye contact with each other. Even Pansy, who hardly ever let her chin duck too low in fear of creating a double chin, was staring at the floor.

Hermione clapped her hands and forced everyone's attention to fall on her. "Now that we have got our only rule of the night out of the way, how about an ice breaker?" There was a small murmur of agreement that most of the students made, ready to shake the tension that had fell over them off. "Everyone in a circle, I have a game we can play." Hermione pulled the gramophone out from the corner it was in and Draco raised an eyebrow, curious about what she was going to suggest. He had been to several Hogwarts parties, but most of the games involved dares instead of music from an antique.

"What are we playing?" Neville Longbottom voiced the question everyone had been wondering about.

Hermione turned around, ready to answer, but Winky spoke first. "The misses will be playing Winky's favorite! The misses will play _Thunderstruck_!"

Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley nudged each other with a grin. Draco watched as Anthony Goldstein and Tracey Davis high-fived each other before taking a spot in the lopsided circle. Draco assumed it must have been a muggle thing as all of the excited students were either Muggle-born or Half-bloods.

Draco was too busy watching everyone interact with each other that he was the only one not in the circle. He quickly secured a spot between Abbot and Pansy as Hermione had floated a plastic looking chest to the center of the circle. He would see the semi-small print of the brand _Igloo_ on it. Hermione lifted the the lid of the chest and saw that it was filled with ice and bottled lager. She pulled out a record sleeve and he could just barely make out the letters _AC/DC_ on it.

"The rules are simple, anytime you hear the work 'Thunder' or 'Thunderstuck' drink until it is said again." Hermione spoke as resized the gramophone's turntable to accommodate the record she placed on it.

"That's it? Nothing else to go off of?" Boot raised an eyebrow at Hermione, which caused her to look up with a mischievous look, one that was reflected by the few who were familiar with the game.

"That's it." She confirmed, her tone too high to be innocent.

By the time she was done, everyone had a beer in hand, except Winky. Winky held a large mug filled to the brim with butterbeer that threatened to slosh over as she bounced on the spot. He had never seen an elf act so peculiar and he almost found it endearing that a house elf would act in such a manner.

Then the guilt hit him with the realization that he shouldn't have found it out of place at all. He had _always_ known house elves were sentient creatures. _Why wouldn't they have feelings?_

His train of thought was derailed by Hermione walking back to the chest and pulling out two beers for herself. "Who's starting?"

Goldstein raised two fingers. "I will, I got a score to settle with Davis." The blond Ravenclaw boy sneered at the Slytherin. Davis' only reply was to blow him a kiss, causing both of them to laugh at whatever inside joke they shared.

"Perfect." Hermione turned in a circle twice, and Draco got the sense that she was counting. What for though?

Whatever the reason was, it landed her between him and Pansy. Much to his surprise, the Slytherin teen didn't even bat an eyelash when Hermione sat between them, and even gave her a small smile. How he had missed _that_ friendship blooming, he would never know.

With a final slash of Hermione's wand, the needle landed on the record with a crackle and the music started to play at full volume.

Draco recognized it to be a rock song, but it was in a different style from the Wicked Sisters that the Pure-bloods and Half-bloods were familiar with.

The beginning riff of the electric guitar was soon accompanied by a kick drum, but not before the band started to chant: "Aaawowowooow". Draco didn't have the time to fully appreciate the intro, when the game had started:

" _Thunder_." Goldstein winked at Davis as he drank.

" _Thunder_." Davis fought off a smirk as she took a drink.

" _Thunder._ " Pansy gingerly sipped the alcohol when it was her turn.

" _Thunder."_ Hermione was almost too eager for her turn. Draco noticed there was a slight shake in her hands, and he couldn't help but wonder why.

_"Thunder."_

"Malfoy!" Draco looked at Hermione beside him right as she flicked her wand at his bottle, forcing the cap to come off with a _pop_. "Drink!"

Being startled into action, he followed her command without a second thought. He winced as the cheap lager washed over his taste buds, as he preferred the premium ale he drank at the Manor instead, but he didn't stop until the next 'thunder' like he was supposed to.

 _"Thunder."_ Abbot did her due diligence.

 _"Thunder."_ Longbottom wiped his lips on the back of his hand, obviously not used to drinking, but he made sure he had continued until it was Winky's turn.

 _"Thunder."_ When the little house elf pulled her mug away from her face, another rumble of laughter ran through the circle at her froth mustache.

 _"Thunder."_ Macmillan was also completely unphased.

 _"Thunder."_ Filch-Fletchy had winced just like Longbottom had when he drank, which was not surprising as he didn't have the reputation MacMillan had when it came to parties.

The chanting stopped then and 'thunder' was not uttered until the lead singer finished his sentence. McLaggen raised his bottle quickly, almost as if toasting to everyone in the room before taking a drink. Draco wanted to roll his eyes at the pretentious act, but he didn't, determined not to be the one to start anything tonight. Boot treated drinking as if it was a tedious task he had been given for the evening, and was trying his best to look bored.

When things _really_ got interesting for Draco, was when " _Thunderstruck_ " was said for the first time. The word had fell on Hermione who looked as if she was waiting for it the entire time. She threw her head back as she chugged her drink. Draco raised his eyebrows, but it was in surprise rather than disapproval. Not once did he ever think he would be sitting in a room with students from all houses watching the Golden girl participate in drinking on school grounds.

Especially when she didn't stop. 'Thunder' nor 'Thunderstuck' had not been said for an entire minute and she kept going, and going and going. When she emptied her first bottle, she used it as leverage to quickly knock off the cap of the second bottle without missing a beat. His jaw dropped as her housemates started to whoop and cheer her on. " _Yeah, them ladies were too kind / You've been... Thunderstruck_!"

Draco didn't slip up on his queue a second time, even though he was concerned he would needed to drink for an entire ninety seconds like Hermione had. _That's why she counted how many people there were, didn't she? She_ wanted _to be the one stuck with the long break._

Draco's theory was proved correct when Abbot's turn came again a few seconds after his had.

He glanced over at Hermione who was watching him with a twinkle in her eye, her lower lip secured between her teeth. It took him a moment to recognize what the expression she had on her face was, but when it dawned on him that she was _excited_ and having _fun_ , he gave her a slow smile. The tight ball of anxiety in his chest finally gave enough to loosen its grip on him, no longer choking him like an albatross.

At least not as hard as it had all year.

He knew he was staring when Hermione's cheeks turned pink. He opened his mouth to apologize when he saw Hermione's face change into one of mild horror. "Oh, Winky! Dobby is going to kill me." Hermione's whine caused him to turn around and look at Winky who had apparently ended up on the next long break in the song, forcing her to chug her Butterbeer.

No one paid any mind to Hermione's distress as the eighth years started to pump their fists in time with the song, encouraging Winky to keep going. When her turn was done, a hand flew to her mouth and Draco thought she was going to be sick from consuming so much in so little time, but instead she hiccoughed.

Any remaining tension Draco and the others felt evaporated at that point as they simultaneously burst into laughter. Draco felt weird with the change in atmosphere and thought it may have been due to the alcohol, but he realized as he continued to shake that _he_ was also laughing. _Actually laughing._ It felt like it had been ages since his heart was light enough for his belly to ache with joy.

It made him want to cry.

Before his mood could completely sour, he felt the warmth of Hermione on his arm and shoulder just as he had hung his head. She had the hallow of her cheek pressed on to the rounded part of his shoulder and was looking up at him.

"I can hear you thinking, Draco." Her citrus scent hit him along with the bitter smell of the lager on her tongue. Her eyes were starting to look a little glassy and he wondered if her tolerance for alcohol was much higher than Winky's. Hermione grabbed his hand and brought the bottle to his lips, even though it wasn't his turn. "This helps me to stop thinking."

He took a long pull from the bottle, one part hoping that it would appease her, the other part was simply buying him time before he said what was on his mind. "You called me Draco."

She smiled up at him, and he tried to embed the image of it in his mind, but the alcohol was starting to make things a little fuzzy. "We're friends now, aren't we? Abbot was right in saying we made it to the other side of the war. And you..." Her eyebrows came together and she frowned before she took the last drink from her bottle. She reached for another and as she took the cap off – using her wand this time – she continued to speak. "You helped me. Us. I didn't forget that."

Draco, taking Hermione's advice to heart, didn't need any further prompting to down a good portion of the lager left in his own bottle.

" _It's alright, we're doin' fine / It's alright, we're doin' fine, fine, fine / Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah / Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck_."

Hermione looked at his peers once more, willing himself to really see them. Abbot said they were all friends – which he assumed was just some Hufflepuff bullcrap to warn everyone their get together was not be ruined – but then Hermione said the same thing to him.

Can he be friends with people who he had tormented by means of bullying for years? People who could have been hurt when he single handedly let the worst of the worst Death Eaters into their home away from home?

It might have been the liquid courage speaking, but Draco decided he would at least try. He thought of Hermione's return to Hogwarts and how she went out of her way to make him feel human again the handful of times they interacted – even more so than Abbot had as Hermione seemed to have the ability to see right through him. It was like she knew what he needed - she _understood_ the pain he was left with this year _._

" _Thunderstruck, baby, baby / Thunderstruck, you've been Thunderstruck_."

"We're friends... Hermione."

* * *

**December 25th, 1998 - Sometime early Friday morning**

Hermione and Draco collapsed side by side onto his four-poster bed. She had landed on her stomach, and him on his side, allowing him to roll on to his back with ease. Drunk as he was, he felt like he had just caught the snitch after they made it from the classroom to his bed without falling _or_ being caught by Filch.

"I never want to be this sloshed again." He confessed. It wasn't the first time that Draco had been drunk, but it was the first time it was _this_ bad. He reckoned he was going to be sick the next day.

Hermione laughed and turned her head towards him. Her curls were still wild, but it was different from what he was used to. She had grown into her bird's nest and while it was still full of volume, they were closer to messy ringlets than a lion's mane. She used a hand to move the curls out of her face so she could see him. The shine he had seen as they played Thunderstruck still had not left her eyes.

"You're supposed to say that _tomorrow_ , Draco."

He had to chuckle himself at her bossy tone. He had heard her use that same voice in passing in the halls when she was talking to Harry or Ron. He missed it and it made his stomach fill with butterflies knowing she was comfortable enough to use it on him.

"Oh?" He said after a chuckle. "And what am I supposed to say tonight?"

Hermione's gaze shifted so she no longer looked at him, but at the covers they were laying on. She bit her bottom lip as she thought – a habit he was happy to see was _not_ broken from the war. When she had her answer, she was grinning. "Prolly something to get me out of my skirt."

He raised his eyebrows as he grinned, trying not to burst into laughter. He failed and placed a hand over his mouth. "I thought that's why I didn't let you go off with McLaggen?"

Bringing up her slimy git of a housemate was worth seeing her stick out her tongue and make the universal sign for vomiting. "I can't believe he really tried that. I'm pissed, not stupid. Bloody pillock."

"Not that you could make it up the grand staircase without getting lost or stuck in the false stairs."

Hermione let out a playful gasp before smacking the back of her hand against his arm. "Don't be rude! We're supposed to be friends now."

There was that word again: _Friends_. Draco thought back to the party, how they had finished the first drinking game to be replaced by another, and then one more before he had been able to have enough courage to talk to someone who wasn't a Slytherin or Abbot. It was a long time coming, but only tonight did he really come to terms with the fact that he was avoiding interacting with anyone because he felt he couldn't. Not until he apologized.

He had decided that he was 'Draco' first and 'Malfoy' second. He wanted to prove the wizards who ate up the nonsense _The Daily Prophet_ spewed wrong. He wanted to be able to introduce himself to people with pride again and not have them shrink away from his hand instead of shaking it.

So he had approached Longbottom first, who was surprisingly very open and _easy_ to apologize to. The word 'easy' was used delicately, of course. Draco wasn't taught how to apologize. Bribe? Yes. Blackmail? Absolutely. But groveling? "A Malfoy would _never_ ," Lucius would say.

It did occur to Draco that perhaps he should have waited until he was sober to apologize to everyone, and he told himself he would in the future, but he was on a roll of some kind – he felt courageous. So after Longbottom, was Abbot who cuffed him on the arm while she scolded him for feeling like he needed to say anything to her. Following Abbot was Finch-Fletchy, who shrugged a shoulder and mumbled his acceptance, just like MacMillan did when Draco faces him. Winky had fallen asleep in a corner, so he couldn't say much to her and Goldstein was more than happy to strike up a proper conversation when approached by Draco, despite how much he acted like he didn't want to be there. Draco had approached Pansy and Davis, but they both glared at him and told him "to sod off if he planned on ruining their buzz with his sappy apols." It was the response he expected, if he were to be honest.

What he had not expected was McLaggen and Boot. Having almost the entire group's acceptance, he approached them. Not to apologize – they cornered him one too many times when no one was looking – but to call a truce. Boot cut him off immediately and strung together a quick, but grandiose apology saying that he and McLaggen should have more faith in the Ministry determining who was innocent and who was not. Draco thought McLaggen kept glancing over Draco's shoulder to where Hermione stood and Boot looked a little nervous, but Draco shook on their on it, nonetheless.

That then left Hermione.

He had approached her, but instead of letting him get a word out, she grabbed his hands and led him to the middle of the classroom to dance. He told himself he would oblige and then pull her off to the side to apologize, but soon everyone was dancing together and lager after lager was being passed to him. When it was time to leave, Hermione was hesitant to go back to the Head Girl dorm, especially when McLaggen offered to be her escort, so Draco extended an offer for her to return to the Slytherin dorms with Pansy and Davis.

Except she refused to leave his side. When they were back in the cool safety of their luxurious common room, she clung to Draco's side and refused his coaxing to sleep have her sleep in the girls dorm. Pansy and Davis gave up long before Draco had, leaving him to stumble with Hermione up the spiral stairs to where his dorm room was located. It was separated from the seventh year students, as the Ministry found it to be inappropriate for eighth years to reside with the seventh years, but it was much smaller than he would've preferred it to be.

"Draco?" He looked over at Hermione. Her eyebrows had a crease and her lips had a slight purse to them. It was the same look his mother often gave him when he started to think too much about her house arrest sentence or how Narcissa would never see her husband again. It was a look of concern. "You alright?"

That was a loaded question he didn't want to answer. Instead, he tried his hand at deflecting. "Relying on alcohol to cope is really bad."

Hermione looked as if she deflated on the spot. "I know." It came out as a whisper. "But that's my problem. I can't seem to stop... knowing things." Hermione rubbed the ball of her palm into her eye before tucking more curls behind her ear. "Mum would've said it would rot my gums. After she confiscated it from me, of course." She sniffed before clearing her throat, finding her strength again to continue the hard conversation. "I haven't had a drink in three days and I told Winky to stop bringing me alcohol after tonight. I do want to get better. I _know_ it's bad, but I didn't want to feel left out tonight. It doesn't even stop the thoughts... It just. Lets me become easily distracted."

 _Winky._ That's how Hermione was getting her alcohol. The only two places to get alcohol was the Hog's Head and the Three Broomsticks, which were regulated to a handful of weekend trips per year – not that they would let her leave with a bottle of anything stronger than Butterbeer. The fact she hadn't had a drink in three days explained her shaking, but how had Hermione become so reliant that she had shakes in the first place, without anyone noticing?

Draco looked at Hermione, _really_ looked at Hermione, and he became angry _for_ her. For seven years she was placed in a world where he and others had tried to make her feel like she didn't belong. The Order did nothing to protect her parents forcing her to take actions into her own hands. The Ministry, instead of recognizing her grief, embarrassed her by openly reprimanding Hermione in a court room full of reporters when she admitted she could not get their memories back. Something that should have remained silent was now public information for all of the world to read as she was giving her statement under oath. He was angry that despite experiencing the trauma of being homeless for almost a year while she hunted Horcruxes, and being subject to torture by his aunt, she was still asked to return to Hogwarts as Head Girl – and she did it without Potter or Weasley to support her.

Then there was the reason he went to the party tonight: _The Lord of the Rings._ Hermione had donated her books to rebuild the Hogwarts library when a fraction of it was still completely decimated. Even something as small as a book that she loved, if the inscription on the flyleaf was anything to go by, she gave up. Perhaps if he had given so much, and received so little, he would have turned to alcohol too.

_Was there ever a time where Hermione did not have to feel like the Titan Atlas? Was there ever a time where she was able to stand up straight, free of the world's weight on her shoulders?_

Draco was livid he bought into the façade that she played. He never would have questioned whether she had everything in control or not, if he had not seen her with the flask on their way back to Hogwarts. Then again, not questioning much was _his_ problem. He never thought twice about the Pure-blood grooming he grew up with, even though someone as extraordinary as Hermione showing him up in every class.

_I want to do more in the world, starting with her._

"Come 'ere, don't fall asleep like that." Their legs were dangling off the edge of his bed and he quickly kicked off his shoes so he could prop himself against the headboard. He pulled the covers down and opened one arm, an invitation that she could cuddle up to him if she chose to.

Hermione sat up, but didn't move. She looked like she was trying to fight the intoxicating fog that ebbed her sharp mind. "You're not - You're not going to try anything are you?"

Draco broke out into a smirk at that. Wanting to make the mood light again, he tried for humor. "If you tell anyone I said this, no one will believe you, but I reckon I am so off the trolley that I couldn't get my dick hard if I tried."

Hermione tried to hold in her laugh, but only succeeded in causing herself to snort. After several attempts, she succeeded in removing her shoes so she could plop down next to him on the bed. He didn't miss that she kept a respectable distance between them and he made no move to disrespect the boundary she set.

He settled in on the other side of the mattress, assuming they were done talking until she placed an outstretched hand on his cheek. He raised a questioning brow at her, but her eyes were closed shut and she didn't see it. "What are you thinking?"

Draco tried to avoid the question with a half-truth. "'" _Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars_.'"

Hermione smiled. "My favorite quote. You liked it then?"

"I did." He murmured against her wrist, causing her to shiver. "I didn't take you as the type to deface a book."

"I ripped a page out of a library book in second year once, but stop trying to change the subject. What are you _really_ thinking about?"

This time, he tried to avoid answering with some brave humor. "That I am completely Thunderstuck with you."

"Oh, shove off." She lightly tapped her fingers on his cheek as if to smack him. "Tell me, Draco Lucius Malfoy."

He laughed, but Draco felt himself sober up as the area around his eyes start to tingle and tense. "That I still need to apologize to you... I am so sorr-"

Hermione opened her eyes finally when she moved her hand from his cheek to his mouth. "You're an idiot if you think I haven't already forgiven you. I'm sleeping in your bed, you know."

Draco felt as if a weight had been taken off of his chest, even if he did not fully believe her words. He peeled her hand from his lips and held on to her gaze. "I want to be friends and I want to help you stop relying on liquor to get through your day." The words came out in a rush, but like the apologies earlier, he felt he couldn't stop himself.

Hermione was taken off guard and her hand twitched in his. He couldn't see her mouth in the darkness, but he thought it might have fell open with his confession. "I suppose I'll need the help. And we're friends, Draco. Don't question that again." Hermione pulled her hand back, but he grabbed it, lacing their fingers together in the space between them.

She didn't try to pull back from him and instead watched Draco fall asleep through heavy eyelids. It was comforting to sleep next to someone else again. Ever since the Horcrux Hunt, it had been the only time she could sleep without being disturbed at all. Her therapist said it was something akin to muscle memory that ended up being ingrained within her while she was on the run.

Regardless of knowing the science of the fact, she was more than happy to let her mind cease for a few hours. Something that the alcohol had never been able to do.


End file.
